Missions
1999
UNP established as a federally funded program dedicated exclusively to university participation in spacecraft development.
2004
3-CornerSat (Arizona State, New Mexico State, and CU Boulder) launched on the Delta IV Heavy demo.
UNP 2004
3-CornerSat
3-CornerSat was a NS-1 cycle winner. The 3-CornerSat spacecraft were identical microsatellites designed by students at Arizona State University, New Mexico State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder. Their mission was to demonstrate stereoscopic imaging, distributed operations, and virtual formation flying operations and communications. 3-Corner Sat was launched December 21, 2004, on the Delta IV Heavy Demo.
2010
FASTRAC (UT Austin) launched on the STP-S26 Minotaur IV.
UNP 2010
FASTRAC
FASTRAC was a NS-3 cycle winner. The FASTRAC spacecraft was a microsatellite designed by students at the University of Texas at Austin. The mission was to demonstrate autonomous high precision real-time relative navigation using innovative GPS technologies. FASTRAC (UT Austin) launched November 20, 2010, on the STP-S26 Minotaur IV.
2013
CUSat (Cornell University) and DANDE (CU Boulder) launched on the Falcon-9 Demo. Ho`oponopono (University of Hawaii) and COPPER (St. Louis University) launched on the ORS-3 Minotaur.
UNP 2013
CUSat
CUSat was a NS-4 cycle winner. The CUSat spacecraft was a microsatellite designed by students at Cornell University. The mission was to demonstrate an end-to-end on-orbit inspection mission using Carrier-Phase Differential GPS for orbital and attitude determination. CUSAT launched September 29, 2013, on the Falcon 9 Demo.
UNP 2013
Ho`oponopono
Ho`oponopono was a NS-6 cycle winner. The Ho`oponopono spacecraft was a 3U CubeSat designed by students at the University of Hawaii. The mission was to provide orbital radar calibration support by collecting and disseminating ephemeris data in response to radar interrogations. Ho`oponopono was selected for NASA’s 4th installment of ELaNa and was launched November 19, 2013, on the ORS-3 Minotaur.
UNP 2013
DANDE
DANDE was a NS-5 cycle winner. The DANDE spacecraft was a microsatellite designed by students at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The mission was to perform drag and neutral density measurements of the low Earth atmosphere in order to further research in space weather and atmospheric models. DANDE launched September 29, 2013, on the Falcon 9 Demo.
UNP 2013
COPPER
COPPER was a NS-6 cycle winner. The COPPER spacecraft was a 3U CubeSat designed by students at St. Louis University. The mission was to test the suitability of a commercially-available compact uncooled microbolometer array for scientific imagery of Earth in the long-wave infrared. COPPER was selected for NASA’s 4th installment of ELaNa and was launched November 19, 2013, on the ORS-3 Minotaur.
2015
Argus (St. Louis University) launched on the ORS-4 Super Strypi.
UNP 2015
Argus
Argus was a NS-7 cycle winner. The Argus spacecraft was a 2U CubeSat designed by students at St. Louis University. The mission was to improve the predictive performance modeling of radiation effects on small, modern space electronics. Argus was selected for NASA’s 7th installment of ELaNa and was launched November 3, 2015, on the ORS-4 Super Strypi.
2018
CHOMPTT (University of Florida) launched on the ELaNa-19 Electron.
UNP 2018
CHOMPTT
CHOMPTT is a NS-8 phase A participant. Post phase A, the University of Florida partnered with NASA Ames to develop the 3U CubeSat. The mission is to demonstrate technology for enhanced GPS and future disaggregated navigation systems. CHOMPTT launched on December 16, 2018, on the ELaNa-19 Electron.
2019
Oculus-ASR (Michigan Tech), Prox-1 (Georgia Tech), and ARMADILLO (UT Austin) launched on the STP-2 Falcon Heavy.
UNP 2019
Oculus-ASR
Oculus-ASR is a NS-6 cycle winner. The Oculus-ASR spacecraft is a microsatellite designed by students at Michigan Technological University. The mission is to fly a custom designed free-flying optical calibration satellite to characterize ground based spectrometers and predictive software performing SSA. Oculus-ASR launched June 25, 2019, on the STP-2 Falcon Heavy.
UNP 2019
ARMADILLO
ARMADILLO is a NS-7 cycle winner. The spacecraft is a 3U CubeSat designed by students at the University of Texas at Austin and operated by students at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The mission is to measure the LEO sub-millimeter space debris environment and demonstrate space weather monitoring using low cost CubeSat technologies. ARMADILLO was selected for NASA’s 15th installment of ELaNa and launched June 25, 2019, on the STP-2 Falcon Heavy.
UNP 2019
Prox-1
Prox-1 is a NS-7 cycle winner. The Prox-1 satellite is a microsatellite designed by students at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The mission hosts the LightSail-2 CubeSat built by the Planetary Society, which the Prox-1 spacecraft deploys from a 3U PPOD on orbit. Prox-1 launched June 25, 2019, on the STP-2 Falcon Heavy.
2020
ANDESITE (Boston University) launched on the ELaNa-32 Electron.
UNP 2020
ANDESITE
ANDESITE is a NS-8 cycle winner. The ANDESITE spacecraft is a 6U CubeSat designed by students at Boston University. The mission is to investigate filamentary current structure within Birkeland regions using a distributed network of orbital magnetometers. ANDESITE was selected for NASA’s 19th installment of ELaNa and launched on June 13, 2020, on the ELaNa-32 Electron.
2021
PolarCube (University of Colorado at Boulder) launched on the Demo-2 LauncherOne.
UNP 2021
PolarCube
PolarCube is a NS-8 cycle winner. The PolarCube spacecraft is a 3U CubeSat designed by students at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The mission is to perform tropospheric temperature sounding to demonstrate feasibility to augment current weather monitoring capabilities. PolarCube was selected for NASA’s 20th installment of ELaNa and launched on the Demo-2 LauncherOne.
2022
Created Technical Insertion – 1 program collaborating between Arachne and Georgia Tech for a power beaming demonstration.
UNP 2022
WEBS
WEBS was selected to participate in TI-1. The WEBS spacecraft is a 12U CubeSat designed by students at Georgia Institute of Technology. The mission is a collaboration between Arachne and the university for a power beaming demonstration.
2023
Created Mission Concept program with NASA to enable entry-level university aerospace programs to mature through a mission design/concepting summer program.
2025+
AggieSat6 (Texas A&M University) is expected to launch on STP-S29A.
Auris (Michigan Technological University), CCP (University of Alaska Fairbanks), EXACT (University of Minnesota), MOCI (University of Georgia) and MAXWELL (University of Colorado at Boulder) are not yet manifested.
NS-12 Phase A Participants Include:
- University of Hawaii
- University of Washington
- California Polytechnic State University - Pomona
- Northeastern University
- Kent State University
- Missouri University of Science & Technology
- Saint Louis University
- Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
- Rutgers University
- Purdue University
- University of Illinois
UNP 2025+
AggieSat6
AggieSat6 is a NS-10 cycle winner. The AggieSat6 spacecraft is a 6U CubeSat designed by students at the Texas A&M University. The mission will capture the Radio Frequency (RF) signal data of an emitting Iridium satellite through the RF patch array device and generate a Direction of Arrival vector. AggieSat6 is manifested to launch in 2025 on STP-29A.
UNP 2025+
MOCI
MOCI is a NS-9 cycle winner. The MOCI spacecraft is a 6U CubeSat designed by students at the University of Georgia. The mission will acquire imagery of the Earth’s surface from LEO and perform real time Structure from Motion at a landscape scale using custom algorithms and off the shelf, high performance computational units.
UNP 2025+
Auris
Auris is a NS-10 cycle winner. The Auris spacecraft is a 12U CubeSat designed by students at Michigan Technological University. The mission will demonstrate a low-cost and scalable system capable of locating and spatially mapping the antenna beam patterns of a GEO CommSat.
UNP 2025+
MAXWELL
MAXWELL is a NS-9 cycle winner. The MAXWELL spacecraft is a 6U CubeSat designed by students at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The mission is to demonstrate a high speed and resilient advanced communication system that can be used on a small platform.
UNP 2025+
CCP
CCP is the NS-11 cycle winner. The CCP spacecraft is a 3U CubeSat designed by students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The mission will demonstrate a flexible high-throughput S-Band link while imposing minimal demands on a CubeSat by using an electrically steered antenna with variable coding and modulation.
UNP 2025+
EXACT
EXACT is a NS-10 cycle winner. The EXACT spacecraft is a hosted payload designed by students at the University of Minnesota. The mission will investigate ranging using X-ray pulsars as navigation beacons in scenarios where GPS/GNSS is not available.